Expending an injury time vote on Darline because looking at the draw, Haiti need all the help they can get :(

Oh *that's* why Ilford popped into my head. (3rd XI was just because that was the peak of my school soccer career)

Respect to the USA manager for tactics worthy of a Zonal Marking article, but it does matter that Dr. Kaya and Señor Barrios are better at guitar and at music, right?

Oh hey I know a song in each of the first three matches, don't think that's going to happen again. Appropriately doomed vote for the Hip, RIP fictional nautical disaster victims unless they were fictional Nazis, in which case go to fictional hell

As someone partly responsible for the Billlie thing I'm getting a very Spain 2022 vibe hot mess from them, like they'll run up the score here then find themselves unable to buy a goal when the crunch comes

Might end up the most personally Galacticos vs. Ilford 3rd XI match of the whole tournament for me, one of the greatest songs of the '80s vs. some electro thing. This being the PPP electorate I assume the electro thing wins

Torn between waving the Laser Kiwi flag and thinking "you know, maybe New Zealand didn't really have more great 2010s songs than All of Africa or All of South America"

Semipop Life: Polka, dot, moonbeam Fuerza Regida, Kesha, Megan Moroney, Jeff Tweedy, and more!

Kesha's earned the right to keep making questionable decisions, Fuerza Regida smoke into the void, Coroner are more chuggity than proggy, plus Summer Walker, 27 minutes of Jeff Tweedy, a wizard & two different wolves, Chi-Am-Barca amapiano, & even a couple of 2026 albums in this month's Semipop Life

Comic panel from "The Tower of the Elephant", written by Roy Thomas, drawn by John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala, adapted from the story by Robert E. Howard. Reprinted in The Savage Sword of Conan Reforged #1 (Titan Comics/Heroic Signatures). "On a marble couch in the large chamber with its golden domed ceiling sits an idol—an image with the body of a man, naked, and green in color… But the head! The head is one of nightmare and madness—wide flaring ears, a curling proboscis, white tusks tipped with round golden balls, eyes closed as if in unholy sleep. This, then, is the reason for the tower's name—for that head is much like that of the beasts described by the Shemitish wanderer."

Savage Sword of Conan Reforged 1-3. Recent reissues controversial for colorization, tho I got used to the computery tones. Some PROBLEMATIC moments (in Conan, I'm shocked), but as someone with only a passing knowledge there were revelations—Thomas/Buscema's "Tower of the Elephant" is a classic innit

Olivia continues to be the anti-Taylor by being an absolute pro at picking lead singles

Dhab Khaless YouTube video by KOAST - Topic

New year, new Saeed Saeed ongoing list of Arabic songs to work through:
www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture...

Favorite so far is Koast's "Dhad Khaless", showing the electro comeback has reached Tunisia (or maybe it's been there for years?)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypqh...

Manga page from Strikeout Pitch by Kyu Sumiyoshi. The coach puts her star pitcher in a manji-gatame. "Octopus hold!!! The high school baseball federation won't stay quiet about this!!!"

Manga page from Strikeout Pitch by Kyu Sumiyoshi: Young Shoma: "I just went pee, but… I already wanna pee again!!! It doesn't matter how much I let out… I still wanna go!!! It won't even come out any more… but I still feel like I need to pee!!!" (this is a baseball manga)

Of the many recent baseball manga, Strikeout Pitch is the one that (i) seems likely to continue, (ii) I'll keep reading, mixing goofiness, shonen Machiavellianism, actual strategy, and the sense that these kids wanna get to Koshien even if they have to emotionally manipulate each other to get there

right time and place for the 49th best pro wrestler ever to have a 1½* match

fortunately Afrobeats legend Selena Gomez has done quite well

from Pere Gimferrer, "Snares" (tr. Adrian Nathan West): This poems is a succession of snares: for reader and proofreader and for the editor of the poem. To be clear, no one has told me what the snares conceal, because that would be like telling me the figure in the carpet, and this, as James has made clear, is not possible.

Pere Gimferrer: The Catalan Poems (tr. Adrian Nathan West)

Spain's most acclaimed living poet, and reading this makes that understandable to any Stevens fan. Catalan's just one language he writes in.

Top five:

Snares
Tropic of Capricorn
selections from Apparitions
Apothesis
Land of Antoni Tàpies

At least as of the 2010s, IMO Italian coffee averaged a bit better than the US, French a bit worse, German varied a lot from city to city. (Easy to believe Scandinavia's better than all of these.)

100 best pro wrestlers ever Based on in-ring work! Morality aside mostly!

Okay I used up all the time I'm willing to commit to #GWE. Apologies to Nigel, Demus, Backlund, the other FTR guy, tag teams that aren't the Briscoes in general, Japanese indies, Puerto Rico, the territory era, and most of the WCW luchadors I loved as a teen:

bradluen.substack.com/p/100-best-p...

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Satoru Sayama (UWF 9-11-85) YouTube video by Kick Submission Suplex

#GWE Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Satoru Sayama 9/11/85

The UWF's about to implode, yet Fujiwara's having a ball, while Tiger doesn't get the same joy out of kicking someone hard despite being able & willing to do so. That's why one of them is among the greatest ever and one isn't. Better: Fujiwara (4¼*)

El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas "Máscara vs Cabellera" 19 Septiembre 1997 YouTube video by El Hijo Del Santo TV

#GWE El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas 9/19/97

As a classicist I prefer their '87 apuestas, but the little things show they're lucha's best ever: Casas's face changing from glee to shock to fear; Santo moving his leg from the ropes to not look like a chump and still getting hit. Better: Casas (4¼*)

[Free Match] Biff Busick (NXT Oney Lorcan) vs. Timothy Thatcher | Beyond Wrestling (PWG CZW,EVOLVE) YouTube video by Beyond Wrestling

#GWE Biff Busick vs. Timothy Thatcher

Some technicians have fancy holds; Thatcher has holds to hurt you. Busick's flexible, making them look worse. Both can strike, which is esp. impressive from Busick for his size, but mostly I want to see Thatcher fail to rip his arm off. Better: Thatcher (3½*)

#GWE Claudio Castagnoli vs. Nigel McGuinness 7/26/08

Claudio isn't philosophically fully formed yet, but it was already apparent he was the indie's top physical talent. Nigel does well to hang with him athletically, and can add character work (even if it's a Danielson parody.) Better: Nigel (3¾*)

Eddie Kingston || Chris Hero || IWA Mid-South || Last Man Standing || YouTube video by Peter Mcarthur

#GWE Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero 9/29/07

Kingston didn't invent hating a guy IRL to make it you're willing to endanger his safety 'cuz you are, but raised the bar for number of guys hated. That the feeling's mutual is seen in Hero's powerbomb; that Hero's a pro, in the ending. Better: Eddie (4*)

#GWE El Generico/Kevin Steen vs. the Briscoes 8/10/07

One of the few times an ROH match felt out of control, and if that's primarily due to the Briscoes' recklessness, Steen's use of crowd objects and little asides do much to keep things flowing organically. Generico bumps. Better: Steen/Jay (4¼*)

#GWE Roderick Strong vs. CM Punk 7/9/05

Punk dominates early through force of (cult of) personality before Strong shows he's stronger at 2005 indie wrestling and Punk shows ass. Punk would prove his real strength was major league wrestling, which was more lucrative in the end. Better: Strong (3¾*)

#GWE Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima 8/25/07

Heavyweight title match selling: still possible in 2007. As well as Morishima sells his leg crumbling, this is Danielson's masterpiece, mixing sympatheticness with a sporting feel in a way he wouldn't repeat until AEW, if then. Better: Bryan (4¾*)

#GWE Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness 8/12/06

Danielson's a heel worth throwing rubbish at, news at 11. Nigel's a great wounded hero, bleeding from multiple places while refusing to acknowledge Bryan has his. Not worth shortening his career for, but that's retrospect. Better: Danielson (4½*)

Dailymotion

#GWE Necro Butcher vs. Bryan Danielson 7/29/07

We know Danielson can do the violent stuff; new to me is how good Necro is at the technical section—he's not exchanging llaves, but he knows how to make Danielson look like the wiz he is, though Bryan'll feel it in the morning. Better: Danielson (3¾*)

#GWE John Cena vs. Umaga 1/28/07

Cena's best, playing to his strengths: he doesn't have to chain offense since Umaga's busily beats the crap out of him. He so gets the emotion of selling you'll think he's all-time top 20 until the next time you see an STFU without a turnbuckle. Better: Cena (4½*)

#GWE AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe 9/11/05

Well this doesn't seem nearly as special as it did at the time, starting well but degenerating into standard 3-way suboptimality. To the extent it *is* great, it's due to Styles being willing to die to enliven things. Best: Styles (3¾*)

#GWE Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe 6/11/05

In some stiff-fests, wrestlers trust each other with their lives; this ain't that. Joe responds to threats to his well-being with headdrops that are sufficient not necessary to explain Necro going MAGA. "Better": Necro (4½*)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMU5...